US roster for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal: Adams, Wright and Luna miss, Reyna selected

Tyler Adams, Diego Luna and Haji Wright will join Sergiño Dest to miss the US friendlies against Belgium and Portugal, while Gio Reyna, Patrick Agyemang and Johnny Cardoso were among 27 players picked for the final squad on Tuesday before coach Mauricio Pochettino announces his World Cup squads.

Noahkai Banks was not included for a possible debut. The 19-year-old defender, who can also play for Germany, made his Bundesliga debut with Augsburg in January 2025 and trained with the US last September, but did not appear in a match.

Left back Antonee Robinson returns and could make his first appearance since November 2024 after recovering from a knee injury. He and a number of other players are among the ten players who missed the friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay in November due to injuries or fitness problems, a group that includes defender Chris Richards, Cardoso and fellow midfielder Malik Tillman, and strikers Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah.

Weston McKennie is back after quitting to stay at Juventus in November, just after the club hired a new coach. Agyemang was added after scoring 10 goals in 34 league appearances for Derby’s second tier side in England.

Goalkeepers Matt Turner and Chris Brady were added, while goalkeepers Jonathan Klinsmann and Patrick Schulte were dropped, along with defender John Tolkin and midfielder Timothy Tillman.

READ ALSO: Brazil to extend Carlo Ancelotti’s contract until 2030 FIFA World Cup

Players will begin reporting Sunday for games against Belgium on March 28 and Portugal three days later, both in Atlanta. It is the last chance for Pochettino to evaluate players together before announcing his 26-man World Cup squad on May 26. The Americans have friendlies against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6, followed by the World Cup vs. Paraguay opens.

Adams, the American captain at the 2022 World Cup, missed Bournemouth’s match against Burnley last weekend due to an unspecified problem. Dest, the best American right back, injured his left hamstring on March 7 while playing for PSV Eindhoven.

Luna, a midfielder who emerged last year, made his season debut for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer last weekend as a second-half substitute after missing three games due to a knee injury. Wright left Coventry’s game against Southampton in the second half last weekend due to a groin injury.

In addition, defender/midfielder James Sands underwent ankle surgery on Friday and is expected to miss the remainder of St. Pauli’s season.

Reyna scored in the November match against Paraguay, his first international start in sixteen months, but again struggled to get playing time at his club. He has just 403 Bundesliga minutes for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season, none since January 17.

Pulisic missed the November games to regain fitness after a hamstring injury. Although he scored ten goals in his first fifteen games for AC Milan this season, he scored none in his last eleven games.

Only nine of the players are on MLS teams.

Published on March 17, 2026